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ArchivesMy first attempt at a web site - comments are welcome!
After many years of thinking about doing so, I am setting up a web site with the etymology of Greek names. My web skills are really non-existent, and it will take me ages to reach a point of half-decency, but I would really appreciate any comments from my friends at BtN.
The site is www.etymologica.com
The site is still in a pre-infancy state, and so far I have only included a few names under the letter Alpha (A) and I would like to know if the Greek fonts are at all visible.
Thanks to all,
Pavlos
The site is www.etymologica.com
The site is still in a pre-infancy state, and so far I have only included a few names under the letter Alpha (A) and I would like to know if the Greek fonts are at all visible.
Thanks to all,
Pavlos
This message was edited 7/15/2007, 6:56 AM
2
Replies
I'm extremely honored to have my book mentioned on your site, as I certainly am not a real expert in etymology of ancient names! This looks like a marvelous beginning; it makes me want to look up just when and where some of the names I am unfamiliar with (such as Onasima) were first used. Good luck with its further development. :)
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You are too kind :)
P
P
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Hey Pav, looking good. I can't wait to see the finished version (though trust me, these projects never really finish). Yes, the Greek fonts show up fine for me.
Mike
Mike
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Thanks, Mike! At least I will me dabbling with one (Greek) can of worms, not an infinite number as you are :)
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Hey Pavlos,
It looks very good :) It's great that you've started up your own site.
Some comments (meant to be helpful, not critisism):
-The pink names aren't really easy for me to read, because they bland in a bit with the background, the greek letters in brackets are easier to read, because they're brighter (maybe reverse them?)
-would it be possible to make a comma thingy (to indicate the daseia) on the A when the name starts with an H (because otherwise it isn't really clear why it should start with an H)
-maybe 'meaning' would be a good idea, to start with rigth away because otherwise it might get hard to distinguish meanings from additional info. example:
---from agathos (good), a woman of good character.
---from agathos (good) and archon (leader), name of a painter from Samos.
The explanation 'a woman of good character' and the additional info 'name of a painter from Samos' now have the same layout, which is fine for now, but once there are heaps of names there it might get confusing.
- I like the blue and pink for male and female, it's good to have it so clear whether the name it male or female.
I like the way the site looks as a whole. The font is easy to read and I like the name of the site :)
Good luck with making it into a more extensive database!
btw: I didn't know it was possible for a Greek word with an A to transliterate into a word with an S, I thought it was only into an H.
It looks very good :) It's great that you've started up your own site.
Some comments (meant to be helpful, not critisism):
-The pink names aren't really easy for me to read, because they bland in a bit with the background, the greek letters in brackets are easier to read, because they're brighter (maybe reverse them?)
-would it be possible to make a comma thingy (to indicate the daseia) on the A when the name starts with an H (because otherwise it isn't really clear why it should start with an H)
-maybe 'meaning' would be a good idea, to start with rigth away because otherwise it might get hard to distinguish meanings from additional info. example:
---from agathos (good), a woman of good character.
---from agathos (good) and archon (leader), name of a painter from Samos.
The explanation 'a woman of good character' and the additional info 'name of a painter from Samos' now have the same layout, which is fine for now, but once there are heaps of names there it might get confusing.
- I like the blue and pink for male and female, it's good to have it so clear whether the name it male or female.
I like the way the site looks as a whole. The font is easy to read and I like the name of the site :)
Good luck with making it into a more extensive database!
btw: I didn't know it was possible for a Greek word with an A to transliterate into a word with an S, I thought it was only into an H.
1
Hey Mar, thanks for the great feedback :)
> The pink names aren't really easy for me to read...
Agree :)
> would it be possible to make a comma thingy (to indicate the daseia)
I will try to install polytonic script :) I am sure it will take a lot of trial and error before getting it right.
>maybe 'meaning' would be a good idea, to start with rigth away
I Agree 100%!!!
> I like the blue and pink for male and female
I Stole that idea from Cleveland Kent Evans's book :)
> btw: I didn't know it was possible for a Greek word with an A to transliterate into a word with an S
Yes :) I cannot think of one off hand but I am sure I will find some on the way. An example is the word salt, which is derived fron "alas" (which has a daseia).
Cheers,
Pavlos
> The pink names aren't really easy for me to read...
Agree :)
> would it be possible to make a comma thingy (to indicate the daseia)
I will try to install polytonic script :) I am sure it will take a lot of trial and error before getting it right.
>maybe 'meaning' would be a good idea, to start with rigth away
I Agree 100%!!!
> I like the blue and pink for male and female
I Stole that idea from Cleveland Kent Evans's book :)
> btw: I didn't know it was possible for a Greek word with an A to transliterate into a word with an S
Yes :) I cannot think of one off hand but I am sure I will find some on the way. An example is the word salt, which is derived fron "alas" (which has a daseia).
Cheers,
Pavlos
1
I'm no web expert myself, but my unqualified opinion is that it looks awesome so far. Can't wait to see the "finished" product!
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Thanks for your kind comment Chrisell :)
I am an accomplished procrastinator so dont keep your expectations too high :)
P
I am an accomplished procrastinator so dont keep your expectations too high :)
P
1
These pages are using entity numbers rather than direct utf-8 encoding for the Greek characters. Since all browsers in common use today understand the syntax, this normally is not a problem except that the Greek characters take up 6 bytes each slowing down the download time by an imperceptible amount.
But the program that generated the pictures included at the top of each page does not know about it, and the picture on the, for example, gamma page talks about Gamma which is the 915th unicode point :-)
Otherwise looks good!
But the program that generated the pictures included at the top of each page does not know about it, and the picture on the, for example, gamma page talks about Gamma which is the 915th unicode point :-)
Otherwise looks good!
1
good
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Thanks for the comments :) You have completely stumped me with your tech-savvy lingo :)
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Sorry did not mean to. When you make such a nice looking page, and, since it is coming from you, with so much promise, expect to see some trivial criticism :-)
All I pointed out was a slight inefficiency in the page that is really irrelevant and that:
whereas the Alpha page correctly shows
ETYMOLOGICA: Deciphering Hellenic Names
Alpha - Α
the corresponding page for Gamma shows
ETYMOLOGICA: Deciphering Hellenic Names
Gamma - Γ
Note that & # 915 ; business: that is HTML-speak for the 915th Unicode character that just happens to be Γ.
There is one additional issue: on the index to the left of every page, the Greek letters which don't have a Roman equivalent (like Γ, Δ, etc.) are correctly written using the Greek unicode characters, whereas the ones that have equivalents (like Α, Β, etc.) are written using the non-Greek symbols (A, B, etc.). They may look exactly alike, but they are not appear equal for searches (try searching this page for a capital B).
Also, why is there a page25 before the Omega and a page27 after it, both being links to feedback?
All I pointed out was a slight inefficiency in the page that is really irrelevant and that:
whereas the Alpha page correctly shows
ETYMOLOGICA: Deciphering Hellenic Names
Alpha - Α
the corresponding page for Gamma shows
ETYMOLOGICA: Deciphering Hellenic Names
Gamma - Γ
Note that & # 915 ; business: that is HTML-speak for the 915th Unicode character that just happens to be Γ.
There is one additional issue: on the index to the left of every page, the Greek letters which don't have a Roman equivalent (like Γ, Δ, etc.) are correctly written using the Greek unicode characters, whereas the ones that have equivalents (like Α, Β, etc.) are written using the non-Greek symbols (A, B, etc.). They may look exactly alike, but they are not appear equal for searches (try searching this page for a capital B).
Also, why is there a page25 before the Omega and a page27 after it, both being links to feedback?
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Thanks, তন্ময় ভট , that is very helpful :) I will try and keep my fonts uniform.
P
P
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Looks like a promising start. I think the number of reliable given name sites on the Web still hardly reaches double-digit numbers, and any addition in this category is highly welcome.
I have nothing to comment on the names themselves, but 2 technical things that don't look right: The letters Pi and Omega in the menu are wrong somehow, and in Internet Explorer - at least on my PC - on the A names page everything about the names is underlined, which is hardly planned that way, I would think. Strange that Opera on my PC does not underline.
Apart from the Pi and Omega menu entries no problems about the Greek fonts.
I have nothing to comment on the names themselves, but 2 technical things that don't look right: The letters Pi and Omega in the menu are wrong somehow, and in Internet Explorer - at least on my PC - on the A names page everything about the names is underlined, which is hardly planned that way, I would think. Strange that Opera on my PC does not underline.
Apart from the Pi and Omega menu entries no problems about the Greek fonts.
1